This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7 119 and/or 365 to Patent Application Ser. No. 0002549-4 filed in Sweden on Apr. 4, 2000, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
When wooden surfaces are scraped clean as a preparation for painting, it is a common occurrence that heads of nails are protruding above the desired wood surface. This is especially common if the original wood surface often has been worn, eroded or shrunk. To achieve a smooth scraped surface, one must be prepared to sink an encountered nail head to a level at or slightly below the final wood surface. This must not be done with a hammer blow directly at the nail head, since in that case the adjacent wood surface would be deformed and compressed, but liable to rise later when exposed to moisture, thus making the final painted surface uneven.
If the nail heads are not sunk deeply enough, the scraped surface will be uneven, and the scraper or its edge may be damaged.
Sinking of protruding nail heads must then be done with narrow blunt nailsets, which are traditionally held with one hand while striking them with a hammer held in the other hand. It is difficult to do this with enough precision, especially if it has to be done while standing on a ladder or a scaffold close to a wall, since there is a risk of falling when both hands are holding tools, none of which can be relied on as a support against the wall.
In many cases the force needed is small, and the nail head protrudes because the wood in which the nail sits was or gradually has become soft.
The invention concerns a paint scraper combined with a nailset, which compared to the traditional method offers a higher precision, and in most cases makes it unnecessary to bring a hammer. The risk of failing is reduced, since the edge and handle of the paint scraper can be used to support against the wall at the same time as the nailset is stably located above the nail head.
The invention pertains to a paint scraper that includes a main body having a manually grippable handle portion, and a shank portion extending forwardly from the handle portion. The shank portion includes a blade-supporting portion at a front end thereof for supporting a paint scraping blade. The paint scraper further includes a nailset portion mounted to the main body and including a nailset element having a nail-impacting end and a striker end adopted to be struck.